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Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment
In June 2025, the Department of Energy announced the Reactor Pilot Program, an authorization pathway that allowed reactor developers to partner with the DOE to get first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors built and tested. Soon after, the DOE rolled out a complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, which aimed to fast-track fuel projects. In all, 20 projects were accepted into the new programs.
L. G. Faust, L. W. Brackenbush, R. C. Smith, L. L. Nichols, D. W. Brite
Nuclear Technology | Volume 15 | Number 2 | August 1972 | Pages 249-256
Technical Paper | Plutonium Utilization in Commercial Power Reactors / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31149
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Gamma and neutron radiation dose rates from various experimental fuel assemblies and from full-size commercial BWR and PWR power reactor fuel assemblies containing UO2-PuO2 fuel with high exposure plutonium were measured. Maximum gamma and neutron dose rates encountered at 61-cm distance from the surfaces of the fuel assemblies were 6.5 mR/h and 25 mrem/h, respectively. It is concluded that commercial reactor operators can handle fuel assemblies containing high exposure plutonium without excessive personnel exposure and with a minimum of special handling procedures. However, radiation shielding for some fuel fabrication steps will be necessary with plutonium of the type expected to become available during the late 1970s.